Disastrous Redfall launch has fans worried for Starfield
It's a bumper year for Bethesda, as the gaming giant is opening the crypt with Redfall and reaching for the stars with Starfield. Unfortunately, the rocky launch of the former has us worried that Starfield could be dead on arrival, heading toward a doomed mission to the cosmos.
Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media was one for the ages, that brought a tonne of Bethesda behemoths under its umbrella. This includes the titles of Arkane, which is known for bangers like the Dishonored series, Prey, and Deathloop. Sadly, most agree the vampiric Redfall 'sucks' right now.
Redfall launch has us worried for Starfield
Remembering that both Redfall and Starfield were supposed to launch in 2022, we dread to think what Arkane's occult adventure would've looked like if it hit its original window. The general consensus is that Redfall feels like an unfinished game, boasting missing door handles, empty backdrops, and blundering AI.
On social media, there are rumblings that Starfield could be heading the same way, repeating the infamous mistakes of CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 and being dumped out as a newborn simply to avoid another delay.
The fact that Redfall is Arkane's lowest-rated game of all time has raised a few eyebrows that Bethesda could drop the ball with Starfield. If anything, having goliaths like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout under its belt has only piled on the pressure.
When IGN staffer and content creator Destin reminded us of the delays, the comments were soon flooded with similar worries. IGN's Ryan McCaffrey wrote, "It's not really fair to Todd Howard and the BGS team, but EVERYTHING is riding on that game at this point."
Someone else added, "Yup, that game damn well needs to come out perfect now. I dunno why but I feel it will be 30fps if so man I'm turning off Twitter the day of release," while another said, "I just hope that they release Starfield when its ready even if it means another big delay."
Is there any saving Redfall?
Click to enlargeWe've already covered how Redfall shares the same Metacritic score as PlayStation's divisive Forspoken, proving that it's just an uneven 2023 for Xbox. Then again, Redfall has the might of Game Pass behind it, meaning player numbers are sure to boom just so Xbox owners can try it out for free.
The jury is out on whether a deluge of patches and hotfixes can bodge Redfall together into a presentable game, while others claim it would take a complete overhaul to get it up to scratch. With basics like online matchmaking MIA, Redfall could be banished back to the grave before it can claw its way out of the ground.
As for Starfield, the rumours were true, and it was recently bumped back to late 2023 - meaning it'll have been delayed by around a year when it eventually releases. The main feeling is that Bethesda should spend as long as it needs on Starfield in hopes of avoiding another Redfall. We say, let it cook.